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Best practices for determining staffing ratios

Patient Access Weekly Advisor, August 15, 2007

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Benchmarks for staffing ratios are best internally developed based on a combination of factors, according to Sandy Wolfskill, FHFMA, president of Wolfskill & Associates in Chardon, OH.

The basic approach is to first identify and document the individual tasks associated with the billing function. If billing also includes follow-up and denial resolution, then those areas should also be listed.

For each detail, the manager then needs to develop two measurements: the volume of work and the time needed to perform one unit of the work. Thereafter, it is simple math to calculate the amount of time needed to complete the specific volume of work. Next, determine the productive vs. non-productive hours paid, and use that information to determine the total number of FTE's required.

The challenge is to obtain accurate time values. For example, Wolfskill says, if insurance verification is performed electronically, the time unit is typically very short-30 seconds or less per transaction. However, if verification is by website or telephone, then longer times will be the norm. It may be necessary to divide the volume of work for some tasks into electronic vs. manual processing, and calculate the different times accordingly.

Since every organization is different, Wolfskill recommends the time and volume approach because it is geared to your specific environment and organization of work.

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